Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research has downgraded Ardmore Shipping's stock rating from a "strong-buy" to a "hold," indicating a shift in analyst sentiment towards the company.
• Despite the downgrade, Jefferies Financial Group maintained a "buy" rating with a price target of $14.00, while other analysts set a target price range between $12.67 and $13.00.
• Ardmore Shipping reported earnings of $0.22 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, but its revenue was down 40.6% year-over-year, leading to a mixed outlook for the current fiscal year.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

ASC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI set a $13.00 target price on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.67.

Ardmore Shipping Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASC opened at $11.88 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.56, a current ratio of 3.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $482.61 million, a PE ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.11. Ardmore Shipping has a twelve month low of $8.32 and a twelve month high of $18.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.38.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $72.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.92 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASC. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 74,053 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 15,565 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 652.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,919 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 13,803 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 137,484 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 25,732 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 39,202 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 1st quarter worth approximately $394,000. 62.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ardmore Shipping Company Profile

Ardmore Shipping Corporation engages in the seaborne transportation of petroleum products and chemicals worldwide. The company's fleet consists of 22 owned vessels including 21 Eco-design and 1 Eco-mod vessel, and four chartered-in vessels. It serves oil majors, oil companies, oil and chemical traders, chemical companies, and pooling service providers.

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